Requiem
by Set
Summary: An unexpected visit is just the first event of many that will cause Scott to doubt his place, both in life and on the team. Scott/Jean, sequel to "wait who's a muntant now?" Rating for Language and Themes.


Authors Notes: Remember that Scott/Jean Love stance I take in my daily life? Well. it's been. what. at least a half year since I professed my love for the two greatest comic book characters ever. I mean. I've written more Superboy stories. a character that I didn't even like until May, than I have written about my favorite comic book characters since I was at least in second grade. Methinks that's a little fucked up, no? Anywho. let's laydown the previous stance. This is all set in evolution timeline. since it's easier for me to write these two falling in love than it is for them keeping their love together. And what with the way that Grant's been writing them as of late. keeping their love together while keeping them IN character isn't really an option, is it? So. Evo timeline it is. In the last story, I threw in the quirk that Duncan, you know, the egotistical jock bastard who needs a slap of hard reality? Yeah, him. Well, it turns out he's a mutant. His mutation didn't kick in because his adulthood didn't kick in until later, which slowed down his x-gene's unearthing. So, now Duncan's living at the school to learn how to maintain his abilities, optimal time for him to make the moves on our lovely Miss Grey, right? Wrong. he tried to do so, and failed. Duncan's attempts to strike an interest in Jean made her run to the one man she knew she could always count on, Scott. They've since proclaimed their love for one another, and are now dating. Duncan isn't very happy about it, but he's happy that Jean is finally happy with her own life. Besides, if I were Duncan I would be worrying about some other things before I worried about some girl I liked. I mean. who the hell names their kid Duncan? In this day and age. come now, that went out with the Depression. Let's get started.  
  
Chapter One  
  
The cabby dropped him off in front of the Xavier Institute, and left in a hurry. The cabby didn't show it, but it was obvious, the suspicion of the boarding house environment the school let out. Such a naïve man, he didn't know how close he was to the truth. The cool summer breeze rustled the trees that surrounded the institute, as well as his blonde hair. It wasn't his first time being here, he had visited before, but he wasn't going to be visiting anymore. He had put it off as long as he could, he didn't want to be separated from his parents. This was different than before, however. Now, something was wrong with his powers, they were much harder to control. It scared his parents almost as much as it scared him. Getting his powers was hard enough on the psyche, but being unable to control them. it was unexpected. Maybe it ran in the family, it was certainly a possibility. He pushed the doors open and walked inside. No need for formalities when the headmaster of the school just happens to be the most powerful telepath on the planet. The professor probably knew when the plane landed in Bayville. It was kind of eerie. but Charles Xavier was never one to use his gifts with the intent of malice. As he closed the doors he noticed that no one was there for a welcome, it was odd. Maybe there was a mission that came up, or an impromptu session in the Danger Room. Sounds came from the entertainment room, explosive sounds followed by voices. It certainly wasn't a rarity in the mansion, but he felt that he should at least check it out. After he placed down his luggage on the ground he walked in the direction of the room. He was stopped by the graceful arm of Ororo Munroe, in a beautiful black dress. She was the essence of perfection, truly a sight to behold.  
  
"We've been expecting you since this afternoon, Alex. As always, welcome back."  
  
"Thank you, Miss Munroe." Alex Summers replied with a slight smile. "And, if I may, you look spectacular."  
  
"Why thank you. You're not trying to gain brownie points with a future instructor by kissing up as soon as possible, are you?" Ororo asked with a wink.  
  
"Of course not." Alex replied. "I heard some sounds coming from one of the rooms, is everything still in once piece?"  
  
"You should know that here at Xavier's, there is never a time where everything is in one piece. But I can assure you that there is no present danger. My nephew and some of the other students are currently engaging in video gaming on the big screen. I don't quite see the point of those games where the purpose is to kill the other players, especially when we live the life that we do. But at the very least, it eases their minds while keeping them entertained."  
  
"Boys will be boys, Ma'm. Or more precisely, Mainlanders will be Mainlanders." Ororo nodded in agreement. "My brother isn't among them, is he?"  
  
"I'm afraid not, Alex. Scott and Jean have left for a date this afternoon. I'm sure if he knew you were coming he would have stayed, but you wanted to keep your lodging a secret from him." Ororo stared at Alex with her blue eyes, as if she was looking into his soul. Thankfully, she wasn't the telepath. "Alex, I don't mean to pry, but why did you want to keep this a secret from Scott, of all people."  
  
Alex turned his head in the opposite direction and sighed. "Scott would worry so much about me if he knew the reason why I'm here. He assumed I was dead for years, I assumed he was as well, I can't have him being concerned over me all the time. I won't be able to hide it for much longer, but he'll know I'm getting the help I need from the Professor." Alex gave a false, comforting, smile. "Where is the Professor at, anyways?"  
  
"Oh, Charles, Henry, and Logan are all out searching one of the mutations that the computer registered. How are your powers containing themselves, Alex?"  
  
"They seem to be holding up fine. It's not like." Alex grabbed his stomach and knelt down, heaving at the same time that his energy came from his hands, ruining the carpet.  
  
Ororo rushed to the young man's side, "Alex!" He couldn't answer her, the surge was too much for him to do anything but make sure he was breathing. He prayed that he could contain the blast long enough so that it wouldn't bring down the mansion. again. "Alex, concentrate, just like the Professor taught you." She was close to him, but even she could feel the energy swirling around the air.  
  
Alex was barely able to stay awake. This was the strongest surge yet. It was almost like a contraction, or at least how it was described. One second you're feeling fine and the next you want to tear open your insides and get whatever is inside of you out. Slowly, with the aid of the breathing and concentration techniques that Xavier had shown him, Alex was able to regain his status quo. Still weak from the battle with his own being Alex wearily got to his feet, aided by Ororo. "I can't deal with it anymore. I need to know what's wrong with me. I need your help."  
  
"We'll do what we can, Alex." Ororo said in a comforting tone. "In the meantime, why don't we get you some water, you're looking rather pale."  
  
"Oh great, It's not enough that I go through indescribable pain whenever my powers flux, but now they're taking away the tan that I've been working so hard to maintain for years. This is too much!" Alex followed Ororo to the kitchen.  
  
"I'm telling you that she wants you so bad, Bobby!" A voice from the kitchen yelled.  
  
"Quit pulling my chain, Jubes. There is no way in hell that Ariel even notices me. She's the most popular Sophomore at Bayville, even the Seniors want her!" Another voice, somewhat more masculine, came from the same area.  
  
"Bobby, you are so, like, blind. Girls always notice the guys who think go unnoticed. That whole lone depressed wolf thing is such a turn on these days. It's, like, the newest fad." Only one person could sound so incredibly. well, there wasn't really a way to describe her, she was just Kitty.  
  
"Is this what people around here call "conversation"?" Alex asked as he walked into the Kitchen. The three teenaged heads turned in unison, only one of them knew who the surfer boy was.  
  
"Alex!" Kitty said as she jumped off her stool and ran towards Alex. He didn't really want to have her jumping into his arms, he still felt like he was going to pass out. The teen chatterbox noticed that her friend looked rather fatigue, and stopped. "Alex, is everything, like, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm just jet lagged. Nothing for you to worry about, Kitty." Alex looked over at the other two and waved. "Hi, I'm Alex Summers."  
  
Bobby looked at Alex, "You aren't by chance related to Scott, are you?"  
  
Alex nodded, "He's my big brother."  
  
"There's no way."  
  
"No way what?" Alex wondered.  
  
"No way that you could be related to Scott. You don't seem that you've got a huge stick up your ass."  
  
Jubes tossed some low key fireworks at Bobby, who was busy brushing away the spots from his eyes. "Ignore him, Alex, he's always like this. It's a pleasure meeting you." Alex brushed off Bobby's comment, he seemed like he got what he deserved. This girl, Jubes. she seemed like she could be fun to be around. "Thanks, pleasure meeting you as well."  
  
"So, Alex, like, why are you here?" Kitty asked while she stared at Bobby walking around trying to regain his eyesight. "Another visit?"  
  
"Actually, Kitty, this time I'm here to enroll permanently."  
  
"Oh, that's, like, so totally cool!" (Note: I love Kitty. I really, REALLY, do. but the Evolution producer people make her seem like such an idiot when she's one of the smartest members of the team. God. all this "like" is getting so fucking annoying) "It'll be so much fun!"  
  
"Yeah, it should be a blast." Alex looked over at Bobby, who was finally getting his vision back. "No pun intended." Bobby smirked as he leaned against the counter. "Now, is it safe for a guy to grab a glass of water, or do I have to go through a certain amount of danger room practices before I get that honor?"  
  
"You gonna need some ice with that water?" Bobby asked.  
  
"I doubt it, you know, since it's been in the fridge and all."  
  
Bobby decharged his slight ice signature, "Drat."  
  
Alex grabbed a glass from the hutch, "I'm guessing you're "Iceman", right?"  
  
"Oh, so you've heard of me?"  
  
"Scott's told me about all the new students that came for the second term. Some got more time than the others."  
  
"Well, a boy's gotta make a name for himself, right?"  
  
"I'm sure the name that Summers has been giving you is one that you don't want, Bobby." Duncan walked in from one of the hallways. "Speaking of which, where is he? I've grown so used to his constant "Duncan, you need to work on your team cooperation" speeches. I haven't heard one today, and my life just isn't complete without one." Alex looked at Duncan. he'd heard plenty about Mr. Matthews as well, very little of it that was rated G, or PG-13 for that matter.  
  
"He and Jean went out for a meal, Duncan." Jubes answered. Did she like him?  
  
"Oh, that explains it." Duncan wasn't hiding his disappointment. Everyone, even Alex, knew that he had never given up on wanting Jean. He wasn't the type who went after a taken woman, but he was the type who wanted one nonetheless. The jock with the bruised ego turned and looked at the new face. "Someone in here got a visitor and didn't clear it with Xavier again?"  
  
"Actually, this is our newest student, Duncan." Ororo said in her regal tone.  
  
"New blood and no one told me about it? What gives?" Alex figured that Duncan was very histrionic, always needing to be in one everything.  
  
"I didn't want to alert any of the other students about my coming here." Alex replied.  
  
"The secretive type, are you? I can see that. I'm Duncan, Duncan Matthews."  
  
"I know who you are." Alex coolly responded.  
  
"See, Drake, that's the kind of rep you want." Duncan said in a smart-assed tone. Bobby chuckled. "What's so funny?"  
  
"Oh, nothing, Duncan. Why don't you just find out who Alex is related too."  
  
"Excuse me?" Duncan looked over at Jubes and Kitty, who were both muffling giggles. "Okay, this went over my head."  
  
"I'm Scott's little brother. You know, that guy who you made life a living hell for day in and day out because you were an ignorant prick? Yeah. him." The giggling stopped, and everyone looked on with concern.  
  
"Listen kid, back then I didn't know any better. Scott just didn't seem like a normal guy. he was more of the freak type. Just like the rest of the people here except for Jean, Kitty, and Evan. They just didn't mingle well with the norms. Little did I know that I'd end up being in the same boat. Scott and I don't get along much better than we did before my mutation, but I understand why he acted as cautious as he did, and I've apologized for the way I've acted." Duncan was being sincere, a rarity.  
  
"Which, I might add, was taped and viewed on the big screen much to everyone else's enjoyment. Unbeknownst to either of the involved parties." Bobby winked at Alex.  
  
"He wasn't supposed to know about that, Bobby!" Jubes replied in a hushing voice.  
  
"Well, it's not like it's anything new." Bobby rolled his eyes. "I mean, the current talk of the school is Roberto and Amara."  
  
"What is going on between them?" Duncan asked with a grin.  
  
Bobby raised his eyebrows, "Well. my sources tell me that they were alone all night last weekend and-"  
  
"That's enough, Bobby!" Ororo demanded. "Unless you want to constantly wax the blackbird for the next month, I suggest you keep your mouth shut."  
  
Bobby winced, "Geez, Miss Munroe, I got it. Believe me, the last thing I want to get stuck doing is waxing that behemoth, I've still got the sores from doing it the first time." Jubes nodded in agreement, waxing the Blackbird was not a pleasant thing.  
  
"So, Alex, what do you do?" Duncan asked, trying to break the dread mood.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"You know, you're a mutant, we're all mutants, we all do something. I've got super-strength, Bobby makes Ice, Jubes is great to have around the fourth of July, and you know what Kitty and Miss Munroe do. Come on, give us a demonstration of what makes you so special!" Bobby and Jubes continued Duncan's lead in, urging Alex on.  
  
Alex was scared, he couldn't always just fire his blasts without having them go psycho on him. He couldn't risk putting anyone, even Duncan, in danger. Ororo sensed his uneasiness. "I think Alex would much rather get some sleep, adjusting to the time change in addition to the time it took to fly over from Hawaii must have made him very tired." All the students heads turned towards her. "Come, Alex, I shall show you to your room."  
  
Alex stared at her, "Thanks." To the others it didn't carrying the weight that it did between the two of them. The graceful woman nodded and led him out of the kitchen.  
  
Chapter Two  
  
"Is he there yet?" A voice said from an unknown location.  
  
"He is, although his brother is currently somewhere else." Another voice, a female, answered.  
  
"It does not matter where Scott Summers is at this moment. All that matters is that Alex is at the mansion, and that they will soon be together. My little pawns, they don't expect a thing. Not even Xavier can fathom the plans that I have for those two."  
  
"I understand why you need Scott, but why Alex? What use is the younger Summers child to you?"  
  
"You underestimate the power of the human heart, my dear. Through my own manipulations the Summers children have been separated since their parents plane crashed. The two will do anything for one another, because they wish to stay together. As long as I have Alex, Scott will do anything that I require. That is in addition to my other quirk in the Summers Family tree." An Image came up on one of the many monitors. A man was shown, shackled. "The children think their parents dead, they know so little. Isn't that right, Christopher?"  
  
"I swear to you, Essex, if you dare harm a hair on either of my boys' heads' I will kill you."  
  
"You said that about your precious wife, and that didn't stop me, did it?" Essex laughed evilly.  
  
"How can you be so. sinister?"  
  
"Sinister? I like that. Mr. Sinister. yes, that fits me well." (Note: Yeah, yeah, don't bitch about me fucking with the precious Marvel continuity. If there is anything that is completely respectful of said continuity it's. Stan Lee, but after that It's some other random people, and then wayyyyyyyyyyyyy down the list is me. Besides, Evolution in itself screws over the continuity horribly, and since this is Evolution timeline. it's all fair game!)  
  
The female again spoke up, "You have their father, isn't that enough?"  
  
"I never have enough!" Essex said with haste. "Alex's powers are growing rapidly, this was unforeseen. It may prove to be a problem for even me. We can't let that happen."  
  
"And the girl, Jean?"  
  
"Jean Grey is of little concern. If she gets in our way, she is expendable."  
  
"Their teammates could prove to be a handful, they are widely varied and all very powerful."  
  
"My dear, you underestimate my planning. Soon enough my full plan will be put into action. We will not have to deal with the entire force of X-Men. After all, they can't be in more than one place in full force if many things take their attention. Soon enough my plan will be set into action. All we need do. is wait."  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Alex was dreaming, and his dreams did not associate with nice slumber time. "But Mommy, I'm afraid of the plane!" A nine year old Alex said as he boarded the small plane that his family had just purchased at the Anchorage Alaska airport. "I don't wanna go in the plane, mommy, please!"  
  
His mother, Katherine, smiled as she kneeled. Her baby blue eyes matched her strawberry blond hair, she was truly a beautiful woman. "It'll be alright, Alex. Your father is a great pilot, he's been trained by the air force. He won't let anything bad happen to us while we're flying in the air."  
  
"Quit being such a baby Alex!" Scott, at the time twelve, his teenage hormones beginning to kick in. The two Summers brothers had always been close, since the moment Scott became the big brother, but lately it seemed like he was growing more disenchanted with Alex. His brown eyes seemed to hold back a rage, that nothing could ever hope to stop unless he wanted it too. Alex started to cry, he wasn't the bravest of children around. Little did he know that soon enough he would know what true bravery took at such a young age. Their parents gave Scott a very disappointed look. In a way, even he was somewhat displeased with himself. He wasn't being a very good brother. His stern and mean look (Note: You know, THE Scott look) lessened as he nearly frowned. "Look, Alex, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell." He kneeled and placed his arm on his little brother's shoulder. "Dad took us flying before, but you were just a little boy, you hadn't even started school yet. I was afraid as much as you are now, even more probably. But you know what? When I saw how good Dad was at flying, I didn't even worry about it anymore after that. Dad is an excellent pilot, Alex. There's no reason to be afraid."  
  
Alex wiped away his tears and looked at his big brother. "You promise?"  
  
"Yes, Alex, I promise, nothing bad will happen to you." Scott smiled, and Alex felt more comfortable, knowing that his big brother was going to protect him.  
  
Christopher poked his head through the airplane window, "Come on, boys! You've never lived until you've seen the skies!" He started the motor as Scott and Alex walked onto the plane, confident that they were going to have fun.  
  
The first hour went better than Alex could have ever expected. The Alaskan mountains were unadulterated beauty, and the air was so clean. Katherine grabbed onto her baby's hand and patted it, "You see, Honey, I told you nothing bad was going to happen."  
  
Alex nodded and grinned, "Thanks-" The plane was suddenly rocked. "What was that?!" Alex asked, panicked.  
  
"Chris?" Katherine walked over to the vacant seat next to her husband. "What's wrong?"  
  
"The engines are shot, we're going down." Christopher answered in a low tone, trying not to alarm his children. "Get the kids ready for an emergency jump."  
  
Scott was busy attempting to comfort his little brother. It was obvious that even he was worried. "Mom, Dad?"  
  
"Nothing's wrong, Scott." Katherine said as she turned around. "Nothing's-" The engine exploded, it was painfully obvious that something was indeed wrong.  
  
"MOMMY!" Alex started to scream out.  
  
Christopher put the plane on auto-pilot and prayed that it would maintain itself long enough to save his children. He ran to the back of the plane and grabbed the only parachute. "Scott, put this on and take your brother out of here."  
  
"Dad."  
  
"Put on the damn thing and get your brother out of here, NOW!"  
  
"But, what about you and Mom?" Scott asked as he barely stomached his father's order.  
  
"We're not important right now, Scott. You're our sons, our children. We'll be damned if we don't do something to make sure you stay alive. Now, get out of the plane!"  
  
"Dad." Scott was holding back his tears, trying to be strong.  
  
"Goodbye, son."  
  
"Mommy. I don't want to go, I want to stay with you and daddy!" Alex was screaming as Scott attempted to grab him.  
  
Katherine stayed back, holding back everything, afraid that if she showed her own vulnerability it would break her sons. "Alex, we'll always be with you and Scott. We love you." The two lovers grabbed each other as their sons jumped out of the plane.  
  
"Mommy, daddy!!!!" Alex's high pitched howl echoed across the Alaskan Mountains.  
  
Christopher grabbed his wife tight. "Goodbye, my love."  
  
A voice appeared from behind them, materializing out of thin air. "I'm afraid that your song isn't quite over yet." The plane exploded, empty.  
  
Plummeting below at high speeds were the two Summers children. Alex watched as the plane exploded, it was an image that would forever be etched into his mind. Scott opened the parachute, but it had caught on fire and the odds didn't look too good for their survival. "Scotty, the parachute's on fire! We're going to die!"  
  
"I won't let you die, Alex, I won't let you die." Scott said as he watched the ground get closer. He had failed as a big brother. He wasn't able to protect his baby brother. He wasn't able to protect those he loved. They were all going to die because of his foolishness. Extreme pain came from his retinas, he assumed that it was just the wind and pressure finally hitting him, but he soon saw how wrong he was. It was at that moment Scott's optic blasts manifested themselves for the first time. He kept his eyes open, letting the raw power cushion their fall. They fell to the ground, embedded in snow, both unconscious, but alive.  
  
"You're not about to get away from me so easily either, young ones." Alex opened his eyes and barely saw the face of the man who uttered those words. He was incredibly pale, as white as the snow that he was standing on. "You are far from done!"  
  
Alex awoke from his new bed in a cold sweat. "No!" He sat up and his breath was heavy and rapid. "Not that dream, not again."  
  
Elsewhere Jean Grey felt a sudden migraine in her head. "Alex?" She asked aloud, but quietly. She had felt that mindset before, and it was quite like that of Scott, the odds were that it was indeed Alex. Was he in pain?  
  
"Jean? Is something the matter?" Scott asked, concerned.  
  
"No, Scott, I just had a random thought pop in from someone who drove by."  
  
"But you said "Alex"."  
  
"Yeah, the person just happened to be thinking about Alexander The Great."  
  
Scott had a puzzled looked on his face. "That's odd."  
  
"The people in Bayville aren't the most normal of people around." Jean stated with one incredibly fake smile. She knew that whatever happened, it involved Alex Summers, but she also knew that he didn't want Scott to know.  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Alex stared outside his window, still shaky from his reoccurring dream. Why was he having it over and over? In a way he was afraid to go to sleep because it was oft met with the horrible image of his parents' demise. Alex walked over to his unpacked bags and let out a soft sigh. He missed them, his parents. Both pairs, his birth and his foster. Of course he missed his birth parents more, they were taken away so abruptly. As hard as his foster parents tried, they could never fully emulate the feelings that Alex got when he remembered falling asleep in his mother's arms, or how his father would always tell the best bedtime stories, especially treasure island. It seemed as though Christopher Summers had a little bit of pirate in him. (Note: Yeah. we all know that Corsair was likely not the best of fathers around, but let's be honest, even the worst fathers who at least care about their children try to be an active part in their lives. I think that Corsair at least attempted to be a good father, which was why he always felt like he failed as a dad, because he couldn't be the type of father he wanted to be.) Alex took out a small picture frame, the only picture that he had of his parents. It was a family photo, he was barely five when the picture was taken. It was extremely worn out, but it was one of the most treasured possessions. "Why does this haunt me so much? Why can't I just deal with what happened in Alaska like a normal person?"  
  
The stench of sulfur and brimstone entered the room, "You're dealing with this just like a normal person would, Alex. You're dealing with a deep personal tragedy, one that isn't the easiest to recover from."  
  
"Leave me alone, Kurt, please." Alex said with his back turned, shielding his face, which was crushed with his anguish. "You wouldn't understand what I'm going through."  
  
"You really think that, don't you? Alex, you're not the only orphan that resides in these walls, you're also not the only person who has wondered about their parents. How do you think Rogue, Logan, or even I feel?" Kurt was somewhat offended that Alex was selling his short of his own pain, which he had plenty of. "At least you can remember the way that our birth parents looked, their voices, you can remember a lot more about your parents than I can about mine. Mystique is my mother, and I know that she has the power to change her shape and size at will. I know the shape of my own mother when she isn't hiding under one of her many skins, but I don't know what she was like when she gave birth to me. She had to be a different person then than she is now, or else she would have just aborted me, or let that mob kill me. I've never even met my birth father, I truly don't know if he even knows that he has a son, or if he's alive. There are nights when I do what you just did, Alex. I wake up in a cold sweat and scream, as if my entire world is going to fall apart. But you know what I think about whenever I get those thoughts? I think about what my foster parents taught me when I was growing up, wondering who my parents were, and why they left me alone. They told me that regardless of the hardships that I felt during those times, or what they felt when they did what they did, it was the right thing to do. It may seem hard to believe, that the right thing to do was send your child up a river in Germany, or push your sons out of a burning airplane, but if they didn't do that we wouldn't be here. Alex, your parents sacrificed their lives so that you and your brother could continue yours. Please don't let their names be used in vain." Kurt turned and began to walk away, his tail softly twitching. "I'll see you later, and you can always come to me if you need it."  
  
"It never goes away, does it, Kurt? The pain. it never goes away."  
  
Kurt stopped dead in his tracks and turned around again, "It never completely goes away, Alex, but if you take the time to lessen it, it does get better. I promise you that. You know, maybe talking with Scott might help some."  
  
"Scott." Alex thought about his brother, who still had no clue he was at the mansion. "Scott refuses to talk about our parents. I've tried so many times to talk to him, to learn a little more than what I can remember, but he never wants to talk about either of them."  
  
"You know your brother is my best friend. He and Jean were the first people aside from my family in the circus that were able to look past my look and see the real me, for that I will be eternally grateful. But your brother isn't the type of person who lets himself show any hint of weakness. Scott needs to be the unmovable mountain every moment of every day. He's getting better at opening up with the rest of us, especially Jean, but the trauma from the plane. it's something that he never wants to talk about. You have to be there for him when he finally breaks down, Alex. You're the only one who can be."  
  
"Speaking of which-" Alex parted the drapes and saw his brothers familiar red sports car, "look who just got home."  
  
Kurt pushed his head through the window, "Hey Scott!"  
  
Scott looked up and gave a shallow wave and smile, "Kurt, why are you in the guest room?"  
  
"Guest room? You mean you don't know A-" Alex quickly grabbed his friend and pulled him back into the room.  
  
Scott looked at Jean, "What's going on in there?"  
  
"Uh-" Jean scrambled for an answer, "It's probably just one the other students trying to play a trick on you. You know how much they're against those danger room exercises you've been putting us all through since the Professor is out on leave."  
  
"Hey, someone's gotta push them as hard as Logan pushes us when he's here, I may as well be the one. You ready to go back inside and face their wrath?"  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be for what's inside." Jean said wearily.  
  
Back upstairs in the "guest" room, Alex was holding Kurt, trying to keep his mouth shut. "Dammit, Kurt, you may have just screwed everything up!" Kurt grew tried of being in the hold, so he ported out and back in at rapid speed. "He doesn't know you're here, does he? Come to think of it, I didn't even know until Kitty told me earlier. What's with all the secrecy?"  
  
"I just want my stay here to be a pleasant surprise for my brother, that's all. Really, Kurt, please believe me."  
  
Kurt scratched his head, "You sure about this, Alex? I don't want any of this causing me any grief when I go to bed."  
  
"Everything's fine, Kurt, everything's-" Alex began to convulse again. He grabbed the table that held the reading lamp for support, but it soon crumbled under the energy that was seeping through his hands.  
  
"Alex!" Kurt was in a state of panic. Everything was not alright with Alex, something was very wrong. "Scott!" Kurt called out.  
  
"No! You will NOT call Scott into the room." Alex mumbled before he moaned and fell down to his knees.  
  
"But-"  
  
"Kurt, please! Don't call him!" Alex was trying to regain his composure, but he wasn't going to do so without his body fighting him back. "The drapes, Kurt, close the drapes!" Alex knew that his power was a lot like Scott's, powered by the solar energy. It was a sunny day in Bayville, and that was likely causing his complex to resurface for the second time in such a short span. As Kurt closed the curtains and brought forth the shadows that blocked the sunlight Alex felt less pain. It wasn't enough to stop his power overload, but it was enough to help him stand up again. "Thanks." Alex meekly spoke out.  
  
"What's wrong with you, Alex?" Kurt pondered. "And this time I will not take "nothing" as an answer. Please, tell me the truth."  
  
Alex shook his head, "Something is wrong with my powers, Kurt. They're not responding the way they used to anymore. I don't know what it is, but I'm having trouble keeping most of it inside me. Every now and then I have a relapse like you just saw. The Professor, Miss Munroe, you, and possibly the other instructors at the institute are the only ones who know about this."  
  
"Don't you think-"  
  
"No, I don't think that Scott should know about this. All I need right now is for my brother, who holds the entire world on his shoulders all the time, to have one more thing to spend time brooding over. The professor can help me, Kurt. I know he can. And besides, I'm staying here now because of it, so I get to spend more time with my brother. I'll tell him when I know what's wrong. Until then I need you to keep your mouth shut."  
  
"Alex-"  
  
"Kurt, please!" Alex was pleading, but he wasn't masking his fear over his own powers.  
  
"Alright, I won't tell Scott."  
  
"Tell Scott about what?" Scott opened the door. "There you are, elf. Would you kindly mind explaining what that was all about?"  
  
"Um. I have to go do something right now. Yeah, that's it." Kurt said as he ported out. Scott finally noticed his baby brother standing there in the room. "Alex? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Let's see, Scott. Large amounts of luggage? Check. My own room instead of sharing one with you? Check. Enrollment papers for the fall semester at Bayville high? That's a check too."  
  
"You're. you're actually staying here for real?" Scott was floored.  
  
"Mm-hmm, Kurt almost ruined the surprise, so I had to drag him back into the room to keep it a surprise. So. surprise big brother!"  
  
"This is great!" Scott said with enthusiasm. "But you should have told me you were coming, I would have picked you up!"  
  
"You really don't know the meaning of the word surprise, do you, Scotty?" Alex said in a nagging, little brother tone, hiding his lethargic feeling.  
  
"Not one as pleasant as this, Alex." Scott hugged his only family member. It still hadn't clicked in his mind that his girlfriend knew about this before he did.  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Alex's first meal as a member of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning went well. He and Scott spent a lot of time just smiling or making small chit-chat. He also met the other students: Sam, Tabitha, Amara, Jamie, Max, Rahne, and Roberto. Most were amazed at the polar opposites that called themselves the Summers brothers. Alex was much more social than Scott, who in turn was more disciplined. Some of the other students, Duncan in particular, would consider his discipline as little more than an act to be on the professor's "A" list. Indeed, Scott and Jean both held a special relationship between each other and Professor Xavier. With the exception of the elder mutants, the instructors, they were his first two pupils. It was a bond that would not be broken, as nothing would change the fact that Scott was his teenage student, and Jean was the child that he had seen grow from an intelligent child, to a force of power all her own. Each of his students, his children, was dear to Charles Xavier in their own unique way. Even Bobby and his pestering ways had since charmed the formerly glum man. Alex looked at all of these people, talking about their day, about what parties they planned to hit this weekend, dishing men, dishing women, and everything in between. He looked at this family of teenagers, all put under the same roof because evolution deemed that they were worthy of extraordinary powers, and wondered if he would fit in. It didn't really matter anymore, circumstances made it so that he needed to be there, even if a small part of him wanted to be back home surfing the waves of Hawaii with his best friends. They didn't know he was a mutant, they didn't even know he was gone. The last couple of weeks he stayed at his foster parents' home were spent fighting himself day in and day out, barely seeing his foster parents for fear of blasting a hole into either of them. He couldn't tell any of the friends that he had back home what was going on, they wouldn't be able to understand. This was where he belonged. It may not have been the exact place he wanted to be, but Alex looked at his brother and knew that Scott would do everything he could to help. Except when it came to helping deal with. the accident.  
  
Scott gave the other students an hour break after dinner before their mandatory danger room session. There was much groaning about having to work so hard during the summer break when they should be taking it easy, but they knew their complaints were moot points. If Scott wanted them to work on their teamwork there was little they could do to stop him. He wasn't forceful, he was just. Scott. He was the field leader, the one who knew each of his teammate's strength's and weaknesses, and how to work on them to improve them.  
  
Alex returned to his room to rest and ponder his situation. Scott had given him looks, as if he was growing somewhat more aware of Alex's dilemma. It was possible that Jean was sending him telepathic messages, but even the time they spent thinking the other was dead did little to shatter the bond that the Summers had always shared. Did she know? Jean was the only telepath that the X-Men had, and she was a good one at that. A knock was heard at the door, Alex yelled out, "It's open." The door slowly pushed open.  
  
"Scott? You're not here to check up on me, are you?"  
  
Jean's angelic face, made even lovelier by her emerald eyes and crimson red hair, peered through, "No, it's just me."  
  
"Oh, did you need something?" Alex watched as she closed the door and sat on the chair near the desk.  
  
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Alex."  
  
"I'm fine, Jean. Why wouldn't I be?"  
  
"I know how hard it can be to adjust to all of this. Leaving your foster parents to come all the way across the coast just to go to school, it can't be easy. But, there's more to it than you're telling us, isn't there?" Jean's gave a comforting smile.  
  
"You're not reading my mind, are you?"  
  
She shook her head, "I would never read anyone of my fellow student's minds unless lives depended on it, Alex. But I am a telepath, the thoughts always swarm through my head. Most of the time I'm able to switch them off, but sometimes I can still hear them, because the thoughts are that strong." The two looked at each other, neither saying a word. "I heard you scream, Alex. It was like I was in the middle of a concert with the speakers' right near my ear. I couldn't help but know that you were in pain."  
  
"Why can't you people just leave me alone?!" Alex said in a harsh tone. "I really do not want to talk about the fact that my powers are going crazy on me and I can't stop them, but you people all just pry and pry. Why don't I just announce it over the school intercom system?"  
  
"The school doesn't have an intercom system, Alex. At least not yet." Jean thought about what he said, and it clicked. "Wait a minute. what was that about your powers?"  
  
"I didn't say anything about my powers!" Alex tried to backtrack, hoping that Jean wouldn't call his bluff.  
  
"Remember what I said about reading minds, Alex? If you won't tell me what I want, I will find it the hard way. Your life is very important to me, and even more important to the guy that I love. I won't let you throw it away because you've got cold feet." Alex didn't budge and Jean closed her eyes. It was obvious she was going to go inside.  
  
Alex tensed up as he watched Jean, unmoving, and obviously concentrating. "Alright, Jean, you win. I can't control my energy, it's like I'm an oversaturated battery who's leaking out at times because it needs to release in order to stabilize. The professor tried to teach me some techniques to concentrate n my center, and at first it worked. But these past couple of weeks, they've been overloading more frequently, and I can't control it anymore. So I've come to the school to get some more help from the only man who can help me. I'm scared, Jean. I'm scared that the professor won't be able to help me."  
  
Jean frowned as she grabbed Alex in her arms. "Listen to me, Alex, the professor is your best bet at finding your equilibrium. He saved me from going crazy with the overload of thoughts that were flooding inside my head, twice. You're not the only one who's had to get help with containing his or her powers, Alex. And you won't be the only person that he helps. Look at your brother. Before the Professor found Scott at that hospital in Anchorage, he couldn't even open his eyes without blowing a hole in something. He had to live his life in the dark because everyone who knew what he was refused to let him see the world. Now he sees the world entirely in red, but he can at least see the people he cares about, especially you. I'm sure the Professor will help you. And, if you want to, you can go back home." Alex was taken back. "That is what you want, isn't it? I don't even have to read your mind to tell that you want to be anywhere but here. You don't think you belong here, and you might be right, but you might not be. That is up to you, and no one will go against your decision. Not even Scott."  
  
"Is he happy that I'm here? I mean, I know that he puts on the face that he couldn't be happier that he's finally able to spend more time with me, but I can't help but think he wants me to go back. I know the type of life that you people lead on this team, Jean. I know that you all go into every mission knowing that you may not come back. Scott doesn't want me going out into the field, does he?"  
  
"Scott doesn't want anyone going out in the field, Alex. If Scott Summers had his way he would go into every single mission the Professor sends us on alone. That way he wouldn't have to worry about any of us, he wouldn't have to battle his own conscience for months on end when one of us got hurt. At the same time, he knows that he alone wouldn't be able to deal with any of the things that we fight against, the brotherhood, the sentinels, everyone. We're the X-men, not the lone X-man, and that is with good reason. You may never go on the field, Scott just might be able to pull the protection that he wants everyone to constantly be under, if only for his baby brother. But don't get any ideas about being lax on the danger room training sessions. He's as hard on me as he is on Duncan, when it comes to training, he doesn't play favorites." Jean looked at her watch. "Speaking of which, I'd better go get my outfit on. He hates it when any of us are late, makes the rest of us work harder just because of it. I'll talk to you later, Alex. And please, try not to think about whatever it is that's going on with you. I'm sure the professor will be able to help you when he gets back." Jean gave an overly confident and comforting smile before she walked off.  
  
Alex was once again alone in the room, but he didn't even have time to think about anything. "Alex?" Scott poked his head through the door, in uniform. "You ready?"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"You didn't really think I was going to let you just take the day off while I made the rest of the team work, did you?" Scott chuckled as he shook his head. "You may be my brother, but if anything that gives me reason to push you more."  
  
"Scott." Alex spoke softly, "I don't want too. Please, don't make me go train, not right now."  
  
"Look, little brother, I know this is all a lot to take in at one time, but I'm here for you, and I'm not going anywhere. I won't let you get hurt, but you need to get acquainted with the other members of the team and their powers, and there's no better way to do that than to train in the danger room. Besides, Duncan thinks that you're a pansy, are you really going to let him be right about that?"  
  
"I can't, Scott. I just. can't." Alex placed his head on his pillow.  
  
Scott looked at his little brother. The look that Alex had plastered on his face, Scott had seen it before. On that day. "Alex, are you alright?"  
  
Alex thought about telling him everything, but in the end he decided not to tell Scott anything. He would just have to grin and bear this danger room session. "Just a little scared, that's all. Having the powers is cool, but using them as a weapon, even in defense, is a little scary."  
  
Scott patted his brother on the back, "Hey, I know exactly how you feel. It's easy to take out cameras and Sentinels, the robotic stuff. But, when we fight people, even scum like the brotherhood and Magneto, I can't help but hold back a bit. I don't want to hurt anyone, Alex, I just want to stop them from hurting other people. But the only way for me to know my limits is to train in the danger room. That's how all of us X-Men know when we hit that mark, that's how you will learn. So, suck it up and get down there, "Havok"."  
  
Alex chuckled, "I'm going to have to get used to that name, aren't I?" Scott nodded with a smile. "Well then, let's go, "Cyclops"."  
  
Alex got off the bed but Scott stopped him in his tracks. "You're not going out in those clothes. Go to my room and grab an outfit from the closet, I'll wait by the elevator. And don't worry about the height difference, one size fits all." Scott walked out of the room, Alex went to grab an outfit. He was still scared, but Scott wouldn't let anything bad happen, would he?  
  
Chapter Six  
  
The danger room was massive, not that anything less was expected from a room that was supposed to train a massive squad bent on protecting humanity from anything that would endanger it. It was always intimidating for the newbie, and this time, that newbie was Alex. Although he wouldn't be known as Alex Summers on the field, they still needed that small bit of secrecy. His codename was "Havok", he didn't care for the name, it was the name that Magneto, the most evil man that Alex had ever encountered, gave him when he untapped the hidden potential of both him and Scott. Maybe Magneto could help him more than the Professor could. After all, with Magneto and his mutant machine Scott was finally able to contain his optic blasts without the visor, something that the Professor was never able to accomplish, even if Scott was his favorite student. Alex was caught in his thoughts, not really paying attention to anything that was going on around him. He didn't notice one of the devices was being set off, and plummeting right under him. "Look, little Summers, I know this is your first danger room session and all, but you shouldn't take it lightly." Alex was startled, he looked straight at Duncan, who was holding the entire device under his back. "This is the only freebie you're getting from me, okay?"  
  
"I could have taken it out without a problem!" Alex replied, with a rather cocky tone in his voice. "But thanks anyways, Duncan."  
  
"It's Brick, not Duncan." Brick let the pressure off his body, and the machine came down with a thunderous sound. "Just be happy you weren't under that." Havok pondered shooting Duncan with a less than regulated burst, but decided against it.  
  
"Hey, watch out!" Again Havok was surprised, he wasn't making a very good first impression. Several discs floated over his head at rapid speeds, he was lucky enough to duck just in time. This was far too much for him, he wasn't a wimp, and he wasn't going to even be thought of one in the eyes of his classmates. With startling accuracy Havok destroyed each of the discs, their shattered remains fell to the ground in a clump. "Nice shooting, Havok!" Iceman, the one who warned him about the discs in the first place, said.  
  
"I've dealt with waves in Oahu that were much meaner than anything this room can throw at me, Iceman." Havok was getting a little too boastful, and Storm noticed this. She didn't want to hurt him, especially since she knew about his condition. However, if he intended on acting like such an egotist on a regular basis, she needed to stop that now. She pressed one of the buttons on the control panel and smirked.  
  
"So, what's next?" Havok asked, his head growing more and more swelled by the moment. The panel below him gave way and he lost his balance. Barely managing to grasp onto one of the sides, he looked down and saw a long fall, but nothing more. As he pulled himself up two horizontal machines closed in on him from opposing sides. He grinned as each hand let out energy that demolished his mechanical assailants. As much as he hated to admit it, this training was almost kind of. fun. Taking a step back to admire his handiwork set off another trap, this time a metallic box entombed him. Havok shot at the ends of the box, but they wouldn't budge. The other members of the team stopped and watched to see how he would handle himself. Or. more importantly, if he could.  
  
Storm was worried. the machines she had set off, but she didn't even think about the trap that sprung the box. She was going to reach for the emergency stop button when the box that imprisoned the young man came apart at the hinges. Alex was free, but he wasn't in the best shape. His uniform was in shambles, it was almost as if his power had burst from his chest in a supercharged blast to free him, and it wasn't stopping. Every time he even took some air in a blast came from his body, in any direction. It had happened, and Storm was responsible for part of it. She quickly turned on the speaker system to the danger room from the control room, "Everyone, get out of the room, quick!" The students listened to their instructor and the danger room was evacuated, all except one person, Scott.  
  
"Cyclops, I told you go get out of that room!" Storm was stern, Cyclops was never one to disobey.  
  
"What's wrong with him, Storm? What's wrong with my brother?"  
  
"It looks like he cut loose, Scott." Duncan replied as he watched the energy flow around like ping pong balls. "It's rather impressive."  
  
"Duncan! Now is not the time!" Jean couldn't help but show her disappointment, she had figured he would be above that. "Scott, there's a reason that Alex is here."  
  
"Jean-" Storm and Nightcrawler echoed simultaneously.  
  
"You both knew, too?" Jean was as surprised as they were.  
  
"Knew what? Tell me!" Scott was both angry and worried.  
  
"He can't control his energy, it's like he's becoming over-saturated and his body rejects the energy and attempts to funnel out the extra juice. Alex has been able to keep the full force from coming out. until now." Jean looked at the boy in the room and a single tear trickled down her tear.  
  
"He didn't tell me about this? My own brother felt that he needed to keep this a secret from me. Have I really failed him that much?" Scott watched as his brother continued to scream in pain.  
  
Kurt walked up to Scott, "He-" Scott brushed him off with his hand.  
  
"Is he going to die?" Kitty asked, obviously concerned.  
  
Scott gritted his teeth and opened the door. "No, he isn't."  
  
Storm grabbed his arm, "What do you think you are doing? If you go in there you could die!"  
  
"Alex and I are immune to each other's powers, Storm. It has something to do with our makeup, but his blasts don't even hurt me."  
  
"I'm not talking about that, Scott. Look at all the falling debris, it could fall on you and kill you!"  
  
Scott moved his arm from his teachers grasp. "That's a chance I have to take, Storm. He's my little brother, I won't let him go down without a fight!" The door closed behind Scott.  
  
"No, not both of them." Jean muttered to herself.  
  
Storm looked at Nightcrawler, "Kurt, go in there and teleport Scott out of that room!"  
  
"No!" Several heads turned, the voice was Duncan. Did he just want an excuse to get Scott out of the picture? "If you take him out of that room and let his brother die he'll never forgive any of us. Once Scott Summers puts his mind on something he'll never quit, not until he gets exactly what he wants." Duncan looked directly at Jean, who was far to busy over concern for her boyfriend. "If you take him out he'll wish he had died. Let him do this, it's as much a challenge for him as it is for us to watch him, probably more. If it gets to the point where he's going to die, then port him out. Until then. we just wait and pray. I can live with more resentment from that guy, but I know when to stay out of the way and let someone do what they have to do. This is his moment."  
  
Scott walked carefully through the danger room. Blasting chunks of rock every so often to get closer to his brother. "Alex! I'm coming!" He didn't get an answer, nor was he expecting one. He just felt that it was important that Alex knew he was going to be there to help. The debris grew more frequent, signifying that Alex was letting out more power, and that Scott was getting closer to him. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, yet was only several minutes, Scott saw Alex. "Alex, you've got to stop doing this!" Alex looked at his brother, and Scott was met with a blast, but it just went into him, no damage. Shaken, but not about to abandon another member of his family, Scott walked closer. "Come on, Alex, fight it! I know you can!"  
  
"Scott. it hurts so much."  
  
"I don't care Alex!" Scott screamed out, "You've fought a lot worse than this! And you've gotten through it. Don't give up, not yet! If you keep up with this expenditure of your energy it will kill you! I won't let you die, ever. Do you hear me? You are not going to die, not while I'm here to protect you! You left me for too long, I won't let you leave again!" Scott grabbed Alex, but even with his immunity to the energy, the force still threw him into the wall.  
  
"I can't stop it, Scott, I can't-" Alex stopped mid-sentence as his eyes glazed over and his body collapsed. The energy stopped, no longer able to channel itself from the battery that is Alex.  
  
"Alex?" Scott ran over to his brother. "Alex? Come on, don't quit on me right now! Please! Don't you leave me!"  
  
"He's not dead, Scott." The professor wheeled towards his oldest student. "I've shut down his mind as best I could, it was the only thing I could do to get him to stop. It's a good thing we got back from our journey at this time, any later and the occurrence could have been. much different."  
  
Henry McCoy picked up the young man, "We need to get your brother to the medical wing, fast!"  
  
"Is he going to." Scott grazed Alex's hair with his hand.  
  
"I don't know for certain, Scott." Hank answered, "But I'll do my best to save him. That I promise you."  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
Hank grabbed some reports from the computer. "Look at the radiation levels his body is showing, Charles, they're barely registering on the scale!"  
  
"Radiation? That can kill him!" Scott was standing at the bedside, keeping constant vigil.  
  
"Don't you worry about the radiation levels, Scott, your brother is immune to the radiation that his body is giving off because it fuels his power." Hank knew he was right, but he was still uneasy himself.  
  
Scott looked at the Professor, "Why are his powers becoming so unstable?"  
  
"I'm almost certain it has to do with the exposure you both had to Magneto's machine recently. It increased both of your powers dramatically, and gave you control over yours. You lost that gift when the machine was destroyed, but the aftereffects still lingered inside Alex. They've enhanced his powers faster than his body can handle them. They finally hit the breaking point."  
  
"Why. didn't anyone tell me?"  
  
Xavier wheeled over next to Scott, "Understand that it was not my intent to keep this from you, but I had to respect the wishes of both your brother and his foster parents. I wasn't put in the most enjoyable of positions, and now my silence may-"  
  
"He will not die, Professor."  
  
"Scott, I understand how you feel, but even we can't do everything, we can't delay the basic human cycle of mortality."  
  
"If you can't save my brother, then what can you do?" Scott left the room, upset at both the failure of his mentor, and his own failure.  
  
Storm watched as he walked past her, she couldn't see his eyes, but she knew that they were seething with rage. A part of Scott blamed her for this, as much, if not more, as she did. "Charles, should I go and speak with him?"  
  
"Actually, Ororo, you'd be of the most help right here telling me everything that happened." Storm nodded and began to relay the events.  
  
Outside Duncan was waiting for some news, the others were all instructed to stay away from the medical wing, himself included, but there was something that he needed to know. His head rose as the door made its opening sound. "Scott, is he going to be alright?"  
  
Scott looked up, expectedly surprised, "Duncan? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Would you believe not being the self-centered bastard I usually am because a kid is fighting for his life inside that room?"  
  
"No, I wouldn't. But I also didn't believe I'd ever see him again, or that this would happen to him after I found out he was alive. So I've come to expect the unbelievable."  
  
"Dammit, Scott! I'm trying to be nice, here, don't ruin it. I know our. relationship. isn't a comfortable one, or one that we even want to admit because we can't stand each other, but it's one that we have to deal with. Besides, you're my teammate, I need to know that whatever it is you're dealing with right now won't affect your judgment on the field. If it does it could mean something bad for all of us, even Jean."  
  
"You've got a lot of nerve to question my resolve right now, Matthews!"  
  
"Do I really? Or maybe you just don't want to hear the truth right now. And the truth of the matter, Scott, is that you're in a very fragile state of mind right now. The others don't want to face you with the proof. Of course, they actually respect you, which is something I fortunately don't have much of."  
  
"I could blast you through that wall without another thought."  
  
"And I could crush that slender little frame of yours just by pinching you." Duncan countered. "It wouldn't solve anything though, would it?"  
  
Scott knew Duncan was right, it wouldn't solve anything. He would likely regret doing anything in the heat of the moment, if he allowed his anger to blind his common sense. It was something that could happen to him, given the situation. It was something he couldn't let happen. "No, it wouldn't." He finally replied, softly. "I really don't know what I need to do right now. I'm worried about my brother immensely, it's more than when I worry about my teammates. I never let my concerns over one member of the team take precedence, though. I need to make sure we all get out okay, and sometimes I fail at making sure we do, like today. I need some time off, but I can't leave Alex alone, not right now."  
  
The professor wheeled into the room, "Duncan, I left specific instructions that no one was to be in this room save for the senior members of the team and Scott. Is there some emergency that I am unaware of upstairs?"  
  
"I was just-"  
  
"You were just disobeying orders, weren't you?" Duncan stayed quiet, no need to attempt a lie when the person you have to lie too is the most powerful telepath on the planet.  
  
"Please return to the main house, we'll discuss your punishment later."  
  
"Can I at least have something to tell them about his condition?"  
  
"We have no clue what is wrong with him, nor do we know how to help him." Duncan nodded as he walked away.  
  
"Wait!" Scott hollered, "Why do you care?"  
  
Duncan turned around with a smirk, "I've my reasons." He went in the elevator and was gone.  
  
"Does he always have to have the last word?"  
  
"When it comes to you? Yes."  
  
"Thanks, that's really comforting." They both remained quiet for a moment, Scott finally turned and looked at the Professor, a man who had been his father figure for over a year.  
  
"You know, don't you?"  
  
"You know me well enough to know that when it comes to you, there is little that I don't know. I don't even need to read your mind to know that you are feeling very insecure about your place in the team given what has happened to Alex." To Charles Xavier this boy was someone who held no secrets, it was very unnerving.  
  
"I can't deal with everything right now, Professor. I want to quit the team."  
  
"No, you don't want to quit the team, you feel that you must. And, given the circumstances, you may be right. Scott, I don't want you to leave this mansion, you are the cornerstone of my dream, and the student that everyone looks up too. However, I understand that you have other. priorities at this time. How about you just stay in the mansion, so you can concentrate on taking care of Alex, and I'll write you off of all the duties that the other members of the team have to perform."  
  
"That. seems fair." Scott looked back at his brother on the hospital bed. "Thank you, I really need to concentrate on him right now. And. about what I said earlier."  
  
"You need not worry about what you said before, Scott. We both know that right now someone in that room needs you, very badly."  
  
Hank came running out of the room, almost knocking Scott down. "I'm very sorry about that, Scott. But I think I've got something that can help Alex."  
  
"What is it?" Scott asked, hopeful that whatever it was, it would indeed help Alex.  
  
"Your brother's power is fueled by Solar Radiation, and that radiation can be contained, if I can just make a suit that can contain it in and keep Alex out of danger-"  
  
"Excellent work, Hank. Please, if you can, get to work on this device. We may not have much time."  
  
"Of course, Charles." Beast ran towards his lab.  
  
"Everlasting hope is a part of my dream, Scott. As long as you have that, your dream will never die." Scott nodded as he walked inside the room.  
  
Ororo walked out several seconds later, "I can tell by his face that Henry gave him the good news."  
  
"Indeed." The professor began wheeling towards the elevator, "I'm sure it must take some weight off of your shoulders as well."  
  
"I'm happy for them. They are far too young to be separated from each other yet again, so soon after their first reunion in years. I suggest we tell the other students, I'm sure they'll be pleased with the news." The Professor and Storm entered the elevator, and went up to the main part of the mansion.  
  
Chapter Eight (It should be shorter than the others. I promise)  
  
Essex leaned against his chair, his alabaster white teeth and the computer screen the only non-black objects in the room. "This plan is working much better than I expected."  
  
The young woman from before waltzed in gracefully. "Explain what makes this recent development easier than the beginning plan."  
  
"My dear, the younger Summers in a weakened state such as now is much easier pray than he is at full power."  
  
"I shall return shortly with him in tow." She turned and began to walk away.  
  
"You have the devices that will enable you to bypass their defenses, yes?"  
  
"Of course, Essex. I have trained long and hard for this day, I will not fail you."  
  
"For your sake, I hope not. I do not tolerate failure." With his words on her mind, she left. "Christopher. it appears your baby will be joining you soon."  
  
"Stay away from Scott and Alex!" Christopher Summers yelled.  
  
"And what do you intend on doing about it? I believe those shackles that you are currently sporting make you. a little. useless."  
  
"You'd be surprised what I would do to keep my children safe!"  
  
"Like push them out of a burning plane? Yes, that was a sheer stroke of genius on your part. You just managed to get lucky that Scotty's little powers kicked in at that moment or you'd be the last member of that family right now. Of course. I plan to kill the entire line out before the night is done. Give it time, just give it time."  
  
An hour later and Jean was in the room. Scott had taken a break, he had been watching Alex for several hours, he needed something to eat. Jean got up and pushed Alex's hair back. He was sleeping so peacefully, it was hard to believe that he was in so much pain. Hank was still working hard on this "containment suit" that he had proposed, and he wouldn't stop until it was perfected, a young man's life depended on it. Alex suddenly tensed up and Jean grabbed his hand. He was having it again, the dream. His tensing became worse and Jean psychically woke him up. "Scott!" "No, Alex, it's me."  
  
"Are you alone, Jean?" Alex asked as he looked towards the shadows.  
  
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"  
  
Alex still surveyed the room, it may have been his nerves, but he was still scared. "I don't know, when I woke up, I felt someone else in this room."  
  
Jean concentrated and gasped, "I think you're right."  
  
"And I know he is right!" A woman came from the shadows. "You should be ashamed, Jean Grey. The most powerful telepath in the world trained you, and you couldn't even pick up the brainwaves of a ninja." Jean attempted a quick mind scan, but the woman just laughed. "I forgot to mention I was also a telepath, didn't I? My name is Psylocke, and I will be the last person you ever see!" (Note: Bet you weren't expecting her, were you? Betsy!!!! Evil Betsy!!! Mmmmm)  
  
"What are you here for? Tell me!" Jean demanded.  
  
"Isn't it obvious? I've come for the boy in that bed, and I will take him to my master."  
  
"Who is your master?"  
  
"Enough questions! Now we battle!" Psylocke charged at Jean with a fierce kick. Jean barely managed to get out of the way. She attempted to call Scott and the others, but it wasn't working. "You should be noted that a psychic shield of the highest caliber has been set up just in this room. It wouldn't take Xavier much time to break it, but he has to look for it first, which he won't."  
  
Jean tossed several pieces of furniture at Psylocke, who dodged them with the grace of a ballerina. "I won't let you take Alex!"  
  
Psylocke jumped up and nailed Jean in the forehead with a mighty kick. "I'm afraid you don't have much to say in this, chum." Psylocke formed her psychic knife and plunged it deep into Jean's mind, she didn't stand a chance. "Sweet dreams, darling."  
  
"Jean!" Alex tried to get up, but Psylocke was on him with breathtaking speed.  
  
"I'm afraid it's lights out for you as well, boy." Alex was soon in the same state as Jean.  
  
Psylocke looked at the unconscious red head. "I suppose I could let you live, you may prove useful as a barter object." She took out Alex and came back for Jean. "This was all too easy."  
  
Scott walked into the room, "Hey, Jean, I got you something to drink, too." Scott looked in the room and dropped both drinks. "Alex? Jean?" He looked at the open window, "Dammit!"  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
Scott ran into the Professor's office. Even though it was late Charles Xavier rarely stopped working, even if he needed it. "Scott, what's the matter?"  
  
"Jean and Alex are gone!"  
  
"Excuse me? What do you mean gone?"  
  
Scott took a moment to breathe, although he was still shaking with rage and fear. "I went to go get something to drink and when I came back they were both gone and the window was open."  
  
Charles did a mind-scan of the grounds and surrounding area. "You're right, they are gone!" He wondered what could have been done to allow such intrusion to go undetected, especially by him. "X-Men, this is Xavier, suit up and join me in the ready room at once! This is an emergency! Hank, please continue working on the suit, I'll inform you telepathically of any changes!" Charles wheeled next to Scott, "I'm assuming you're going to want to be in on this, and although I don't recommend it, I won't stop you."  
  
"They've taken the two most important people in my life from me, right under my nose. I won't rest until I find both of them!" Scott again ran to his room.  
  
Charles hung his head low, "Scott. please don't push yourself too hard."  
  
No less than ten minutes later many mutants were costumed and awaiting the briefing. Scott walked in last, adjusting his visor. Duncan leaned against the table, "I thought you were taking a leave of absence from the team."  
  
Scott didn't merit his comment with a direct face to face conversation, he only answered in a very bland tone, "They've got Alex and Jean, whatever this person wants, it has to do with me."  
  
"Jean." Duncan was angry, someone could be hurting Jean right now.  
  
"Using Cerebro I've pinpointed both Alex and Jean's psyches to this spot," a map of the United States came up on the monitor, a red blip was centered near the tip of Maine, "although it seems a little too easy. If the person who did this was able to come in without detection, why would he or she want to be detected now?"  
  
"You don't know who it is that did this, Professor?" Kitty quipped, worried about her friends.  
  
"No, Kitty, whoever committed these acts is still shielding their mind, but not the minds of my students."  
  
"It's a trap," Scott spoke up, "it's a trap for me. Whoever is doing this wants me to go to them, and I don't intend on keeping them waiting."  
  
"Scott, you can't be serious! Who knows what could have done this, you can't go!" Kurt tried to reason with his friend, it wasn't going to work.  
  
"Alex and Jean are not under these walls right now because I wasn't paying enough attention to know that this would be a prime time for an attack on the team, when we were at an emotional low. I've failed so many times in such a short period, I won't do it again! I'm going."  
  
Duncan stood tall, "I'm going too!" Everyone looked at him. "Hey, I'd do anything for Jean, even put up with Scott." Within seconds everyone had stated they were going to go.  
  
The alarm system went off and the screen turned to a live feed from a local television station. "Reports are currently sketchy on what type of machines are being shown here, attacking the foundation of the Bayville Dam, but the authorities have had little luck in containing the monstrosities." Some of the students gasped, others were so shocked they couldn't even speak.  
  
At that moment everything clicked for Charles Xavier, "Of course! This attack is much to soon to the infiltration of the mansion to be a coincident, whoever is responsible for the kidnappings must have sent these robots near the mansion just to make sure we couldn't go to Maine in full force."  
  
"And it worked, we can't risk the lives of all the people here in Bayville just as we can't risk the lives of Jean and Alex." Everyone concurred with Storm's statement.  
  
"Cyclops," Xavier spoke, "for obvious reasons you will be heading the search for your brother and Jean. I suggest you get ready for the trip, and pick some teammates to go with you."  
  
"He's not going anywhere without me!" Kurt said as he stood by his best friend. Cyclops smiled and nodded, "Shadowcat, we might need your powers to bypass any computers that these people may have, and Rogue, we can't have you knocking out any of us to fight those robots, so you're in."  
  
"If that's what you want, Cyclops, Ah'm your girl." Rogue was happy to be with Scott, she still hadn't gotten over her crush despite the fact that she knew he belonged with Jean.  
  
The Professor looked at the squad, "Five people, Scott? Are you sure that's wise?"  
  
"I don't want a full frontal assault Professor. Besides, we don't even know how many robots are at the dam. You'll need almost all the heavy hitters for this one."  
  
"Very well, the X-Jet docking bay has been unlocked. Good luck." Cyclops, Brick, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Rogue all ran for the jet. "Let's hope you don't need it."  
  
Elsewhere, at the headquarters of Nathaniel Essex, Psylocke had returned. "I have brought young Alex Summers as you requested."  
  
"Excellent, my dear, excellent." Essex looked at another body, "What is SHE doing in here?"  
  
"I figured that she would be good bait. Scott loves this woman, perhaps more than he loves his own brother. She could proof. useful."  
  
"I have trained you well, my sweet Elizabeth." Essex grinned, "But I didn't train you to disobey me. We will discuss this later. For now, take the girl and put her next to him."  
  
"Yes. Master." Psylocke lifted Jean up and walked off.  
  
Essex picked up Alex and laughed, "It's all falling into place. Soon, my only fear will be diminished!"  
  
Psylocke opened up the door to the small room that held Major Christopher Summers. The sound of the door closing awoke the battered man, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Bringing you a guest, it's so glum in here." Psylocke placed Jean against another wall and shackled her up. "I'm thinking I should get him to get some better means of keeping prisoners, this is so passé."  
  
"Who is she?" Christopher asked as he looked at the young, unconscious, woman.  
  
"She's a member of the X-Men, and she's also your eldest son's girlfriend. You two could talk about a lot of things, I'm sure she doesn't know what he was like as a baby, and I know you don't know what he was like going through adolescence." Psylocke gave an evil grin.  
  
"Why are you doing this, Psylocke? How can such a young, beautiful, and gifted woman such as yourself get tied up into his web of lies?"  
  
"Flattery will not get you anywhere with me, Summers." Psylocke coolly responded. "But, since you will soon go to another plane of existence I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you. That man, Nathaniel Essex, saved my life from the ancient ninja clan known as the Hand. I no longer wished to have my life ruled by another, and I wished to go out on my own. This is against the Hand code, once you are Hand, you will always be Hand. I broke the code, and the punishment is death. I took my chances, the need to be my own woman was stronger than my fear of death. I was a fool. The Hand caught me soon and I could not handle them, even with my telepathy aiding me. I should have died on that day, but he came and annihilated the strike force that was sent after me. For that, I owe him my life, and honor dictates that I be his to command."  
  
"You're deluding yourself, girl. You claim that you were willing to die just for the ideal of being your own woman, but now you are just as deep in a self-imposed prison as you were back then. You are more than capable of thinking for yourself. You speak of honor, and I ask you this: Does kidnapping my wounded son and attacking this innocent girl for no reason at all go with your code of honor?" Psylocke gave no answer. "Well, does it?"  
  
She still stayed silent, "That's what I thought. You see, you are not free of being yourself, not as long as you work for that man."  
  
Psylocke punched Christopher in the nose, possibly breaking it, "I certainly do not need to be given advice on life from someone who allowed his own wife to die." She left him alone with Jean.  
  
Christopher smiled, "All too easy." He looked over at the girl, "Well, at the very least, Scott has good taste in women. He must have gotten it from me."  
  
Essex again sat in front of his control panel, "I know you are coming to me, Scott Summers. I know that you will soon meet your end, at the hands of Mister Sinister."  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
Cyclops sat in the driving seat of the X-Jet. He never thought that he would ever get back into a plane after that day. much less pilot one for a worldwide protection force. Why was he so afraid of talking about his parents? Whenever Alex would attempt to talk to him about it, he would quickly dodge the question. It shouldn't be something that he would want to avoid. After all, talking about the problem is often the best way of solving it. He knew the reason why he hated to even discuss his parents with anyone, because he was ashamed of what happened. His mutant power hadn't even manifested itself until the plane was going down, and even with it there was no chance he could have saved his parents from their ultimate fate. Still, he had always been the type of person to take everything in as his own failure, even then. He hated being such a failure in his own eyes, and that was why he tried to be the ultimate team player, to somehow atone for his self-imposed sins.  
  
Rogue looked at her dear friend and crush, "Scott?" She got no answer, "Scott?"  
  
"Huh?" Scott looked over at Rogue, "Is something wrong, Rogue?"  
  
"Ah'm just worried about you, Scott. You look about as nervous as a long- tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs."  
  
"Can you blame me?"  
  
Rogue was somewhat taken back, "No, Ah can't blame you. We'll find them both, Scott. I know we will."  
  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rogue. If only I could be so bold." Rogue was seeing another side to Scott Summers, the rare venerable side. She wasn't aware he had one, but he apparently did. It was rather scary. "I'm sorry Rogue, this just isn't easy for me."  
  
"You want me to take the controls until we get there?  
  
"No thank you. Doing this gives me something else to think of aside from my mounting social problems. Besides, we're almost there."  
  
At the back of the Jet sat the other three members of the strike- force. Kurt looked over at Scott, "Look at him, it would be hard to tell that he was going through everything that he is right now."  
  
"Scott's, like, really good at keeping to himself when he's having, like, a problem."  
  
"A little too good at it sometimes." Duncan added. "He doesn't let people know when he's hurt, and because of that he becomes more of an introverted person."  
  
"I'd have never pegged you as the somewhat philosophical type, Duncan."  
  
"Yeah, and I would have never pegged you to look like a little blue demon freak, Kurt. I mean, I knew you were a weirdo, but."  
  
"At least Kurt has never been a petty bigot like you." Kitty was quick to defend her "fuzzy elf". Duncan got quiet quick. "That's what I thought."  
  
The Jet landed and Scott got out of his seat, "Come on X-Men, we're going in there."  
  
Duncan looked out of the hatch to see where they had landed, "A factory? Alex and Jean are in a factory?"  
  
"Shadowcat, go undo their entrance security so we can get in."  
  
"On it, Cyclops!" Shadowcat phased through the jet and ran to the door. "Now, where is that control panel? Oh, here it is." Without a second thought the young lady put her intangible hand through the computer system, causing it to fizzle and malfunction. "That, like, never gets old."  
  
"Great job! Now all we need to do is blast through this door." Cyclops got ready to open his visor, but he was stopped.  
  
Brick shook his head, "Let me do it, I need to hit something." Cyclops gave a slight nod and the door flew off its hinges. "Now that, like, never gets old." Shadowcat rolled her eyes.  
  
"Nice work, Brick."  
  
"Cyclops gave me a compliment? Now that could get old. Should I mark this day on the calendar and proclaim it a holiday?" Brick grinned, even in the face of trauma he couldn't help but be the same cocky Duncan.  
  
"I don't have time to deal with you right now." Cyclops looked at the vast factory, it was several times bigger than the mansion, which alone was bigger than the high school. "It's obvious we're going to need to split up. Nightcrawler, you come with me. Everyone else, go the other way. If you don't find anything, start coming our way again, we'll do the same." Cyclops began to run down the left path, Nightcrawler gave one more look at his other teammates before he followed.  
  
Scott ran as fast as he could, nothing would stop him from finding Jean and Alex, nothing. Another door blocked the pathway further into the factory. A more than normally juiced up optic blast took down the door hard. "You need to take a moment to catch your breath, Cyclops?" Nightcrawler watched as Cyclops ignored his advice and continued his sprint down the corridor. "I guess not." Kurt started to follow, but he was stopped by several rows of metal barring his path. "What in the world?" He examined the walls. "I don't know how far out they go, so I can't risk a teleport, but if these doors came down right after Scott ran through them. this must be the right way." Nightcrawler ran the other way to find his fellow teammates. He only hopped he would find them in time.  
  
The metal made a loud clanking sound behind Cyclops, he paid it no mind. He knew that Nightcrawler wasn't behind him anymore, he knew that he was alone, and he liked it. Now it was just between him and whoever was doing all of this. He wouldn't have to drag any of the others in this obviously personal fight. He was running out of breath, but he still pressed on, ignoring the pain that his body was screaming out. The pathway came to an end finally, and all that was left was a room, oval shaped. "Where are you? Where are you?!" He screamed out to his unknown assailant.  
  
"And who is it you are looking for, my dear boy?" A figure, still shrouded in darkness, slowly became more illuminated. "Surely you have no clue who I am, but allow me the introduction. I am Mr. Sinister, but when it comes to you, I am so much more."  
  
"You're the one who took Jean and Alex, aren't you?"  
  
Sinister laughed, "You catch on fast, no wonder Xavier values you as a student. Yes, I am the one who took your brother and girlfriend. However, I was not alone, in fact, it was my apprentice who did the kidnapping. Psylocke, if you would." The lady stood next to Sinister. "I'm willing to bet you want to know where they are, don't you? Well, I guess I could show them to you." Sinister snapped his fingers and lights came on around both Alex and Jean. Jean was tied up over the roof by her hands, still not awake. Alex, on the other hand, may have had it better. He was inside a tube containment device, although he too was not conscious. "I can't take any chances with that brother of yours at the moment, Scott. The girl was easy to put down, she won't wake up unless my lovely little Psylocke over here wants her to. Alex, on the other hand. Well, his body can still go into its recent little spells if you would. I can't risk that, now can I? So, I've rigged up a containment area much like Beast is doing so back at the mansion. Wonderful mind that man has, a pity he uses it for the wrong side."  
  
"How do you know so much about us?" Scott asked, concealing his hatred, but not by much.  
  
"I'll get into the how with you soon enough. As you can tell, I am a very intelligent person, and it didn't take that long to realize ways to hack into your computer and camera systems that even your Professor wouldn't detect. I've been keeping an eye on his activities since the moment you set foot in that school."  
  
"Me? Why me?"  
  
"I always keep tabs on my orphans who find homes. I wouldn't be a very good owner if I didn't, now would I?"  
  
Scott took a step back, "The orphanage? What does the orphanage have to do with any of this?"  
  
"The orphanage that you stayed in just happened to be another base of operations for me, Scott. I knew you were a special child since I saw you plummet from the Alaskan skies all those years ago. A ray as red as crimson coming from you directly, of unknown power. Power enough to cause me harm. I had to do what I could to make sure you would never be able to use it against me. I've been planning since that day, sending my own agents to keep an eye on you. One of them might be very special to you. I'm sure you remember this boy." Sinister motioned with his hand for someone to come forth. A teenage boy walked forth, blonde haired, a few inches shorter than Scott.  
  
Scott did indeed remember. "Danny?"  
  
"He isn't Danny, Scott." Sinister corrected. "Oh, I can assure you that the boy you knew as Danny did indeed exist, but when I saw the friendship that the two of you had developed, I used it. I had one of my men take Danny from his bed one night, got enough of his DNA sampled, and a week later had him murdered and this clone put in his place. He has all the memories of that boy, and the exact same look, but he was completely loyal to me."  
  
"No, that can't be true!" Scott was about to fire a blast, but he stopped.  
  
"I wouldn't suggest doing that right now, Scott, because I haven't even told you the best part. Danny's replacement was just one of the ways I manipulated your life. I made sure that Alex was adopted before you got out of the hospital so you would be separated. I made sure that you would have no way of knowing how to contact him. I also made sure that you never knew the true fate. them." Another light shined, this time on a man lying on the ground. "I'm sure it's been some time since you last saw this man, but no son ever forgets the face of his own father."  
  
"My father?" Scott began to run, Psylocke stopped him with a well placed kick the stomach. "How? How could my father have survived that plane crash?"  
  
"You're so simple minded for someone who can fire beams of incredible force out of your eyes, aren't you? I grabbed both of your parents before the plane exploded. You see, I've cut a deal with the proverbial devil if you would. I've got special powers of my own, and I used them to get your mother and father out of that plane." Sinister grabbed Scott by the hair and bought the boy close to his face, "I've owned you since that day, and I will continue to own you until the day you die!" He saw Scott seething with rage, "You want to blast me with an optic blast, don't you? Well, why don't you try it? Come on, the first shot is free!" Scott opened his visor and felt pain shoot through his skull. "You can't do it, can you?" Sinister laughed again, seemingly triumphant.  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
Scott looked at the man who had caused his life to be a downward spiral for over a half decade. He wanted so bad to shoot this man with his power, but for some reason it wasn't working. "Why. won't my powers work?"  
  
"I've had mental blocks placed in your mind since you were in the hospital. Your brain has been programmed to never fire against me. Just another one of my little surprise quirks."  
  
"The others. they'll come and stop you."  
  
"Will they? I hate to disappoint you, but the inner layers of that wall behind us are made of Adamantium, there isn't any force on this earth that can bust through those. And since I had a feeling you would bring that little phasing girl you enjoy talking to so much here, I had the outer layers made of Vibrainium, which are so unstable that she won't be able to get near them without hurting herself. I do believe that is a check, and a mate." Sinister brought Cyclops even closer to his face, "Tell me, my dear boy, what do you intend on doing now?"  
  
"This!" Cyclops said as he kneed Sinister in the gut. The man instinctively dropped him and Cyclops sweep kicked him to the ground. "I might not be able to take you out with my power, but I've still got some fight in me."  
  
Psylocke came from behind and elbowed Cyclops in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. "Big mistake you just made attacking Sinister, bloke. Big mistake!"  
  
Sinister got up and again grabbed Cyclops, "You've got some nice moves for one so young." He slapped Scott across the face, making his mouth bleed. "Maybe I should make you a mindless slave like Psylocke instead of killing you. What do you think about that, Psylocke?"  
  
"I think-" Psylocke got up and walked next to Sinister. She formed her psychic knife and drove it right into his forehead, "I am anything but mindless, "master"! Now, Cyclops, while his mind is weak, break his control over your mind!"  
  
Sinister got up, still reeling, but coherent enough to punch his former servant with enough force to knock her into the wall, and into unconsciousness, "That was foolish, and you will pay for that in due time."  
  
Cyclops looked at the man who had done all of this to him, everything that had caused him pain in his life was caused by this man. He had never really hated any person in his entire life, until now. He didn't hide his rage, and he screamed out anger as he attempted to break the mind barriers. It hurt him, more than anything else he could ever have imagined, and he still wasn't breaking them. Finally, Scott removed his visor and opened his eyes, unadulterated raw power flowed if not constrained by the ruby quartz visor. "This is for everything, Sinister!" The barriers shattered as the many years of pent up rage, followed by the pain he felt now, caused them to overload. The beam came like a thundering hammer, and it didn't stop for anything, not even the man known as Mr. Sinister. He screamed out, and fell down quickly, his body incredibly charred. "It's over, and I've saved those who are dearest to me." Scott grabbed his visor and applied it over his eyes. He hurried over to Alex's container and broke it with a low powered beam. Alex fell out into Scott's arms, and began to cough. "Hey there, little brother."  
  
"Scott? You saved me?"  
  
"Don't I always?" Scott asked as he hugged Alex, "Don't I always?"  
  
"What happened? I remember some girl attacking me and Jean in the room, and then everything is a blank." Alex was fighting the cloudiness in his mind, but was starting to walk again.  
  
"Don't worry about that girl anymore, Alex, she realized that she was on the wrong side." Scott walked below Jean and fired another optic blast, causing her to fall into his arms. "Jean? Jean, please wake up."  
  
Jean's head began to slowly stir, "Scott? You're here?"  
  
"I'm here." Scott answered as he got closer to her face and kissed her. "I'm glad you're alright."  
  
"I knew I would be, after all, I have you to protect me." Jean smiled weakly as she rubbed her head. "Where are we?"  
  
"Does it really matter? We're about to go back home. Just let me go get my father and we'll be off."  
  
"Your father? But Scott, isn't he. dead?"  
  
"Apparently not, Jean, and I'm very thankful for that." He placed Jean on the ground and walked over to the chained up man. Christopher looked up at the boy, not saying anything. "Look, I know you can't see my entire face, and I've grown a lot, but you should at least be able to say something to first born."  
  
"Scott? Is it really you?"  
  
"I should be asking if it's really you, dad." Scott smiled. "Hold still while I blast you out of those chains." Scott let out more soft toned optic blasts, which caused the chains to shatter.  
  
"Now that's certainly not something you inherited from me." Christopher replied, shocked.  
  
"But I did inherit your resolve, and it's gotten me through so much." Scott hugged his father, something he always thought he would never again be able to do. "Thank you." The lights went crazy and a siren went off.  
  
"What's going on?" Alex asked as he helped Psylocke get up.  
  
"It's the detonation device that Essex planted in the factory, set to go off when his heartbeat stopped!" Psylocke pushed herself off of Alex, "We need to get out of here, fast! I know the way out, please follow me."  
  
"Why should we trust you?" Jean shouted, "You were going to kill me!"  
  
"You can either trust me now or die in here, the choice is yours. I can assure you that I have a debt of honor to repay both your boyfriend and that man in his arms. I will not betray you."  
  
"Jean, you can trust her." Scott gave Jean the only answer she needed, if he trusted her, than she should trust her. "Please, tell the others to get to the X-Jet and wait for us." He turned again and looked at his father, "Come on, dad, we need to go."  
  
"No, you need to go!" Christopher said, "I'm in no shape to go with you, son. I'd just hold you back and jeopardize all your lives, leave me. I've made peace with my life once, and I'll do it again."  
  
"You listen to me, dad. Since that day we jumped out of that plane I've hated myself for not doing more to keep you and mom alive. I always thought you were dead, and now I've got a second chance to keep you alive. I will not leave this building without you. You are coming, and that is final." Scott grabbed his father and carried him.  
  
"When did you get so forceful?"  
  
"Since I thought I was the only member of the Summers family to be alive. Death does a lot of things to people, dad, and pre-mature maturity is one of them."  
  
"I don't deserve to be saved, Scott." Christopher said softly, "I couldn't even save your mother from that monster."  
  
"You did what you could. I finally realize that one can only give their best, and no more."  
  
Everyone followed Psylocke out of a long corridor to an emergency exit, and as they were loading the jet it exploded. Scott looked at the building, crumpling, and felt peace in his life for the first time in a long time. He turned and looked at his brother and father, hugging each other. Jean walked next to him and grabbed his waist, "You did great today, Scott."  
  
"I did what I was trained to do, Jean, I saved lives."  
  
Psylocke walked in front of Scott and stopped, "Cyclops, I hate to disrupt this heart-warming moment, but I need to discuss something with you. Because of your father I realized that I was not living the life of a free woman, my entire life I've been trained for death, and to take orders from only one person. I wish to learn the ways of you and the X-Men, I want to protect those lives from people like I was. I would like to join your squad. Through you and your friends I can gain a more stable and family based life, something that I cannot even recall having."  
  
"Psylocke, without you we would have all died in that madman's clutches. I cannot deny you a chance to gain a life that you wish. I'm sure the Professor would gladly take you into the mansion."  
  
She smiled and moved her hair out of her eyes, "Please, call me Betsy."  
  
Christopher laughed as his youngest child placed his head on his lap and fell asleep. Scott walked up and sat next to him, "What's so funny?"  
  
"Do you remember the night before the accident? Alex fell asleep just like this because we stayed up so late talking. I never thought I would see either of you again." Christopher wiped away a tear.  
  
"Belief in everlasting hope is the central point of my mentor's dream, dad. It's something I've never given up on, even when I thought I have. Everlasting Hope."  
  
The End (GOD THAT WAS LONG!) 


End file.
